Life of A Bastard by Damien Black (Book Review #306)

Life of a bastard is a book written about the life of Javier, an orphaned boy’s will to cope with all the moves and sufferings he encounters while being under American foster homes.

The book remains truthful to the encounters of incidents that happen in foster homes and displays a realistic image of outcomes, far from the ones we read and hear in articles through, success stories. The author believes that there are too many cases emphasizing on just the success stories out there, shadowing the reality of the high percentage of failures. Most children brought up on foster homes do not end up living successfully or have a better life afterward.

While staying positive is always a good thing, I believe hiding the ratio of success in such delicate situations, such as the life of innocent children is unacceptable. The author provides stats and facts to solidify the failing system in hand. Facts like how foster care children have a higher chance of suffering from PTSD was interesting. 60% of sexually abused children were among the sufferers.

I believe, the author truly hopes that Javier’s story acts as an inspiration for change. A change that is much needed now, rather than a few years from now. He does make suggestions over how things could be dealt with on a grander scale, however, whether his voice is heard, is another issue altogether.

The book is easy to read and to understand. The content flows naturally with stats and facts solidifying the author’s claim and by honoring his promise to Javier, the book takes on an emotional side which also provokes the reader’s mind into feeling for the situation at hand.

I recommend this book to people that want to make a difference in life.